Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994 TAG: 9406290023
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's when The Kroger Co. opens a new store - with emphasis on bulk merchandise and a prototype center-of-store pharmacy. It is no coincidence that the supermarket sits across the street from Sam's Wholesale Club and Phar-Mor.
The new Kroger store, at 55,000 square feet, is standard size for the national retailer, but it is 20,000 square feet larger and 20 years newer than the one Kroger is replacing at nearby Crossroads Mall. The new store will employ 200 to 220.
The store also is a manifestation of a more aggressive Kroger, said James R. Thorne, president of the Cincinnati company's mid-Atlantic marketing area, which has headquarters in Roanoke.
"We started dabbling in club packs of merchandise a few years ago, but we didn't price it right," he said.
"Now, we have taken on Sam's pricing," said Thorne this week as he walked the aisles of Kroger's "Big Packs" displays of everything from paper towels to chicken breasts.
Thorne pointed out that the company is likewise "getting serious about the pharmacy business."
The in-store pharmacy, which will be the fifth for Kroger in the Roanoke Valley, not only includes the expected prescription drug department, but also has an extensive display of health and beauty supplies and a large Ambassador/Hallmark greeting card section, complete with a create-your-own card machine.
There's even a small office supply section. The space is carved out of the center of the store and laid out to create a drugstore-within-a-grocery.
Thorne said once the pharmacy layout passes the test of customers it will be introduced in the chain's other stores. It, and many other touches in the store, are responses to customer comments, he said.
Throughout the store are examples of efforts to meet the growing demand for self-serve, prepared foods. Self-serve cases for seafood, cheese, deli and bakery items will be larger than Roanoke-area Kroger shoppers are used to and include a broader selection. And a new bake, broil or steam oven will cook any item the customer wants cooked, Thorne said.
Even the video rental section is larger, he said. And there are customer rest room facilities, with baby changing tables, at the front of the store.
This is the first new Kroger store in the valley since 1989, when the company opened stores at Lake Drive Plaza in Vinton and Lakeside Plaza in Salem.
Valerie St. Clair, a co-manager at Towne Square, helped open the Vinton store. The other co-manager, Bill Street, comes from the Crossroads store. The manager, Tony Caputo, came from the Hollins store.
Wayne Snyder, the manager at Crossroads, has become the manager at Hollins. The majority of the Crossroads store employees will be moving to the new facility, however, said Ken Hammond, zone manager for the area's 13 stores.
Hammond said he expects the regular Crossroads customers to shift to the new store. He said Crossroads has been a neighborhood store, and many of the customers ride the bus, so Valley Metro is adding a stop at the new store beginning Monday.
He also anticipates that Kroger's Towne Square store, which shares a facade with a Lowe's Superstore, will become a regional grocery store. It has more than 350 parking spots.
The store, its site and stock represent a $7 million investment, the company said. Its technology includes satellite communications that make it nearly paperless. Deliveries from food vendors, such as soft drink and snack food companies, will be recorded directly into computers that generate invoices at the company's offices. Badge readers will replace employee timecards.
Computers also will manage time clocks for store lighting and controls for heating and cooling. A heat reclaim system recycles warm air generated by refrigeration units to provide heat and hot water for the store.
Kroger, which is the nation's largest grocery chain, has been at Crossroads since the mall opened in 1959. The store that closes Saturday was it second location and was opened in 1974. Negotiations are under way for a Birmingham, Ala., book and gift store to sublet the space.
by CNB